


Dust & Dirt (and Nothing More)

by dawnings



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: (very mildly), Blood and Injury, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25871734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dawnings/pseuds/dawnings
Summary: Yukhei shows up on Ten’s doorstep out of the blue, seeking help. Ten helps a stranger and can’t understand the chemistry they have.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 26
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi quite literally No One asked for this AU but I had an idea so I went with it! I hope everyone enjoys this because I really don’t know where I’m going with it lol. Enjoy!!

There was a knock on the front door that seemed to flip Ten’s world entirely upside down.

It was late; much later than Ten had been used to staying up. As usual, Ten was home alone, sitting in his pajamas and watching some corny romance movie that he definitely hadn’t cried while watching. He made his way to the dorm expecting his takeout to be there, already. Normally, he wouldn’t eat Chinese foods this late, if at all, but he was going through something. He needed this.

The door swung open, and Ten’s thought process came to a complete stop. There was a very tall man leaning in his doorway, covered in blood. He was offensively handsome, if you asked Ten, even with his face bruised and his nose and lips bloody. Ten probably should have been a lot more freaked out by a beaten up man knocking on his door, but really he was just confused. Not to mention trying not to get flustered by how good looking the stranger was.

“Uh,” Ten said, eyes moving over the torn grey t-shirt the man was wearing. The front of it was covered in drying blood, likely from his nose. The side of it was torn and hanging low on his lip, hanging on by only a few threads. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah,” the man said, one side of his mouth quirking up. Why he was smiling while he was in this condition, Ten couldn’t tell. Maybe he’d just opened his door for an insane person. Or a murderer. “I’m friends with Guanheng, he told me to ask you to help me get cleaned up and maybe let me crash on your couch. You are Ten, right?”

Great, so this insane person-slash-potential murderer knew Ten’s name, and one of his friend’s names. After the day he’d had, Ten really wasn’t too shocked. “I am,” Ten admitted, like an idiot. “And… I don’t know. Would you mind if I call Guanheng for a minute? I just want to make sure, you know?” He needed to make sure that he wasn’t going to get roped into anything insane just because of Guanheng. And he really didn’t want to let a psychopath into his house if he didn’t have to.

“Sure.” The man shrugged, emitting a low groan as he did. He put a hand to his ribs, on the side of his shirt that was torn. He must have been pretty beat up, but it was hard to tell with all of the blood. “Go right ahead. I’m in no hurry.”

Ten didn’t really know what to say, so he just turned back inside of his house and shut the door. He clicked on Guanheng’s contact photo, sighing to himself. He didn’t know why he was suddenly responsible for this man, but he didn’t like it. If Guanheng was messing with him, Ten was going to choke him out on sight. That was a promise.

It took a couple of rings, but Guanheng picked up the phone. “What’s up?” he asked. There were other people talking on his side of the call, music faintly thrumming, too. But of course Ten was stuck with the bloodied handsome man, right? “Oh, I talked to Kun, today. I hope you’re—”

“It’s not about that,” Ten assured quickly. “Some guy just showed up at my house, and he says he’s friends with you, but he’s covered in blood and all beat up. Do you know him? And if so, why is he at my house at one in the morning?”

“Oh, that’s just Yukhei,” Guanheng said simply. Helpful, as always. “Yeah, so, can you help him out a bit? Just get him cleaned up and make sure he’s okay, and let him stay the night? He’s a good friend of mine and he can’t go home right now, it’s complicated. He has a weird family and a lot of people don’t like them, so if he goes back now he’s just going to get beat up again. I just trust you to take care of him while I’m busy.”

Ten’s head hurt from all of this. “I don’t understand any of this,” he groaned. He didn’t know why he was being trusted with this person, or why any of this was really necessary. Couldn’t this Yukhei person just clean himself up and go stay at a friends house? It didn’t seem to Ten like coming to his house and interrupting his perfectly fine night was vital to this plan. “I guess I can help? I don’t know, Guanheng, this is a lot.”

Guanheng gave a pleased hum. “I’ll owe you big time,” he said, “like, I’ll literally give you money. Just please help him out?”

Ten grumbled incoherent words to himself. “As long as you promise he’s not going to try to murder me.”

Guanheng laughed loudly. “No way, he’s the nicest dude ever.”

Ten let his shoulders fall. He’d just wanted some Chinese food. “Yeah, alright.” He hung up the phone without another word, still trying to figure out what was going on, and why it was Ten’s problem. He opened the door and looked up at the stranger. “Your name is Yukhei?”

“That’s me,” he said. He had a goofy sort of look to him, but Ten decided that it was mostly just because of his ears. They stuck out and made him look a lot younger than he probably was. It wasn’t a bad thing at all, though.

A car pulled into Ten’s driveway, the Chinese restaurant’s name plastered on the side of the car. A man stepped out of the car, struggling to carry all of Ten’s food with two hands. Yeah, Ten had overdone it with the food, a bit. It’s hard to gauge appetite while crying. “How are you doing tonight?” the man asked, stepping up to the house. He set the take out bags on the porch, nervous eyes flickering between Ten and the beaten man that was casually leaning against the door frame like he owned the place. This was the weirdest night of Ten’s life.

“We’re good,” Ten said, taking the clipboard and pen from the driver. The food smelled good and he was starving, but he was more concerned with what was going through the delivery man's head. He kept trying not to stare at Yukhei while Ten was signing the receipt. Ten wanted to say something to assure him that no one was in danger. Unfortunately, that would probably just make things worse. Plus, Ten didn’t know for sure that Yukhei wasn’t in danger. He didn’t exactly understand what was going on. “Just a regular Friday night, you know?”

The man gave a nervous laugh, face tense. Ten couldn’t blame him for being freaked out, he probably should have been, too. Yukhei seemed about seven feet tall, looming over the both of them, and he was soaked in dying blood. Ten could smell the blood on him, that’s how much of it there was. But he looked so nonchalant, resting against the side of Ten’s house. That just made it all the less settling. The driver took the clipboard from Ten, muttering “thanks.” He gave another frightened look towards Yukhei, and scurried back to his car.

Ten put a hand to his forehead, sighing loudly. “I really hope he doesn’t call the cops on us.”

“He probably won’t,” Yukhei said, sure of himself.

Ten just wanted to go to bed, now. He supposed this situation was in him for ordering Chinese food at one in the morning. Otherwise, he probably would have been in bed right now, or at least crying with the lights off. And he most definitely wouldn’t have opened the door for Yukhei if he hadn’t been expecting a quarter of a paycheck’s worth of greasy Chinese food. “Come on, I guess I’m taking care of you, tonight.”

“Awesome,” the other man said. He closed and locked the door behind them. He was nearly as tall as Ten’s door, and about as broad. “Do you live alone?”

Ten set the food on the table. He didn’t know where he needed to start with Yukhei. He didn’t know about dressing wounds, or giving stitches— his only experience was from hurting himself back when he’d taken dance in school. “Yeah, I do,” he said. No way would he have let Yukhei into his home if he’d have to explain it to a roommate.

Yukhei was looking around, eyes shining in the light of Ten’s lamp and television. He was rather relaxed, especially for these circumstances. He had blood smeared across his face and all over his shirt, but he seemed more interested in looking around Ten’s living room. “It’s nice in here,” he said.

“Thanks,” Ten said slowly. Maybe this was a really weird dream. Maybe Ten had fallen asleep on the couch and he was just having a bad dream after watching too many movies. He really hoped that was the case. “Do you want to shower first? And then I can get you ice, or something.”

“Sure,” Yukhei nodded. “I know there’s a lot of blood, but it’s really not as bad as it looks.”

Ten pointed to the other side of the room, nodding. “The middle door is the bathroom. You can use the towel that’s in there, I just washed it. And I’ll try to find you some clothes.” Nothing of Ten’s would fit him, that was for sure. He probably had some oversized clothes laying around somewhere.

“Thanks,” the taller man grinned. That grin stayed in his face until he shut the door between them. Weird kid.

Ten did end up finding some clothes that would hopefully fit him. The pants might have been a bit short, and the shirt smelled like moth balls, but it would work. It was better than having a naked, injured man hanging out in his living room.

Ten took this time alone to eat, scarfing down some noodles and broccoli at his coffee table. He’d intended to eat this while crying, but he’d have to settle for this. He’d wanted to enjoy this night alone, on his couch, out of sight from anyone else. Instead, he was saving a box of rice, the eggrolls, and the chicken for the boy he was haphazardly taking care of. Guanheng really was going to owe him. Big time.

Yukhei’s head peeked through the tiny opening he’d created with the bathroom door, wet hair falling into his eyes. If his bare shoulder was exposed and upsettingly muscular, Ten didn’t notice. “Did you find something I can wear?” he asked, round eyes finding Ten immediately.

“Oh, yeah,” Ten said, getting up from where he’d been scrolling through his phone. He brought the pile of clothes to Yukhei. One of Yukhei’s hands came out, wrapping around the bundle of clothes with ease. His hand was about as big as both of Ten’s put together, but Ten was too busy making eye contact with the man’s bare chest to notice. “Hopefully these fit. They’ve been sitting in my closet forever, and they’re not ever mine.”

“It’s all good,” Yukhei smiles. “I’ll make ‘em work.” Shortly after Yukhei closed the door, it swung open again. Steam left the room, filling the air with a damp, floral scent. Yukhei must have used Ten’s body wash.

Sure enough, the pants were way too short on Yukhei’s long legs, coming halfway up his calves. The shirt was obscenely right, too, hugging every curve and plane of his torso. Ten needed to pull himself together.

Shaking himself out of it, Ten grabbed the cotton balls and hydrogen peroxide from his bathroom cabinet. If anything, Ten could treat the cuts the other man had on his face. It would have to do, since Ten had no idea what else he was supposed to be doing. If he needed any sort of stitches, he was out of luck.

He looked up at the man, trying to assess the damage. “Your nose isn’t broken, right?” It didn’t look broken, it looked perfectly straight, but it had been so bloody before, Ten needed to make sure.

Tentatively, Yukhei brought his fingers up to his nose. “I don’t think so,” he said. He took up a lot of space in Ten’s living room, much more than Ten ever took up himself. He was so tall he’d be able to touch the ceiling, if he tried. Not only was he tall, but he was wide, built up of muscle and lanky limbs. Ten wasn’t sure he’d be able to get comfortable on his small couch, with legs and arms as long as his were. Yukhei seemed to occupy more than half of the space in Ten’s living room, and Ten was squished into the wall. “It’s just bruised. I don’t think I broke anything, actually.”

Ten nodded. “That’s good news. Come sit down and let me clean your cuts so they don’t get infected.”

Yukhei nodded enthusiastically, moving across the room so he could sit on the edge of Ten’s couch. He pushed his damp hair out of his face with a hand, the dark brown falling into their familiar place. He was looking up at Ten like he’d never seen anyone with a glass jar of cotton balls. His eyes were wide and shiny, looking up at Ten like he’d discovered a new type of person. He was watching Ten’s every move with focus, amazed over nothing.

Ten started dabbing at the man’s face with soaked cotton balls. He started at the bridge of his nose, where the skin had split from impact. It must have stung, because Yukhei winced and pulled away. “Sorry,” Ten murmured, but brought his hand back to Yukhei’s face. Yukhei relaxed into the touch, still looking up at Ten’s face. The cut on his nose had thankfully stopped bleeding, but he couldn’t say the same for the one on his lip.His nose was bruised purple, spreading into the bruises on his eye, like watercolours. Every time he talked or smiled, the cut on his lip would open back up and start shining with blood. Which was unfortunate, since most of what Yukhei did was talking and smiling.

The way Yukhei was staring at Ten was starting to make him self conscious. He was too close to be studying Ten’s face the way he was. There was nothing for him to observe, and Ten wanted to tell him to quit. But he didn’t even know Yukhei, so he just let the man keep watching Ten’s features like he was desperately trying to read his mind. “Have you done this before?” he asked. His voice was deep and raspy, cutting through the silence without hesitation.

“Not really,” Ten admitted. “I used to take dance so I’d have to deal with getting bruises everywhere, and blisters on my feet. But I’ve never had to do this for anyone else.” Now that he was thinking about it, he didn’t even know why he was doing this for Yukhei. He was probably capable of cleaning his own face and body, he was an adult. But it wasn’t often Ten got forced into taking care of strangers. He figured he should do this much, at least.

Yukhei just nodded, taking Ten’s words in. He was like a giant puppy, watching Ten and waiting for him to feel all better. “Your name is Ten?” he asked. He stilled his lips so Ten could dab at his lip, but not for long. Ten barely got to wiping the blood up before Yukhei was talking again. “Like the number?”

Ten could feel the corners of his mouth turn up. This was a question he’d heard before. “Yeah, like the number.” He set the used cotton balls to the side, looking down at Yukhei’s bruised face. His lip was slightly swollen on the one side, dark bruises blurring the line of his lip. His eye was bruised a dark blue, curving under his eye like a dark circle. Ten was sure his eyes weren’t looking much better, since he’d decided to stay up late after crying. His own face was puffy and awkward, and he definitely didn’t look as good as Yukhei did. So he wished Yukhei wouldn’t stop looking at him.

Even with Yukhei’s face a range of colours, he was still pretty. How did Guanheng have such attractive friends? Even more so, why was he not telling Ten about these friends of his?

“Where else are you hurt?” Ten asked.

There wasn’t a moment of hesitation before Yukhei was pulling his shirt off and tossing it on the couch. “My ribs are definitely bruised, and I kind of got stabbed earlier, but other than that I’m pretty sure there’s nothing else.”

“You got stabbed?” Ten asked, eyes going wide. “Oh my god. Maybe start with that next time, okay?” Granted, if there was a next time. Ten didn't exactly  _ want  _ there to be a next time. He wanted to go to bed at a normal hour and not clean someone’s stab wound. Of course, he also didn’t  _ want  _ Yukhei to get stabbed again.

Yukhei laid back so Ten could see the wound on his side, stretching his muscular body at an awkward angle. “It’s not that bad, honestly.” It wasn’t, to be fair, but it was still slowly bleeding. It was a short, clean cut along his ribs, but thankfully it didn't look too deep.

Ten wiped at the cut, faltering when Yukhei hissed at the pain. “I don’t think I have any bandages,” he said, leaning in so he could see the cut better. He only had bandaids big enough for his finger. Yukhei would have to go without anything, for the night. “What even happened? Why did someone try to stab you?”

Yukhei let his body relax when Ten stopped cleaning him. He didn’t bother putting his shirt back on, he just leaned his head back on the couch so he could look at Ten down the bridge of his nose. “A few people jumped me,” he said casually. “If it had been one or two people, I could have easily handled it. I’m a big dude, and they were a lot smaller than me, and I know how to fight. But there were three or four of them, and one of them had a knife. So, I got the shit beat out of me.” He said it so easily, like he was describing a regular day. Ten certainly didn’t understand what type of person this Yukhei was, if he was so nonchalant about getting jumped and stabbed.

“Did they mug you?” Ten wondered.

“Nah,” Yukhei said, “my dad’s a big CEO, and a lot of people hate him. I’m not really fond of him either, but when everyone knows me for being his son, I sort of get the bad end of things.”

Ten furrowed his eyebrows. It didn’t make sense to him that people would want to hurt Yukhei over who his father was. But Ten supposed he didn’t really understand the way big businesses and networking worked, so he couldn’t really say. Ten didn't know what to say. Yukhei was just a stranger that Ten felt awfully comfortable with.

Ten handed Yukhei the two warm boxes and the bag of egg rolls that had been sitting on his table. “Here,” he said, earning a shocked look from the taller man. “You can eat these, if you want. You should probably get something in your stomach, at least.”

Yukhei’s eyes were wider than they had been all night, lips parted in surprise. He took the food in one hand, “Are you sure?” he exhaled. “You’re not going to eat it?”

Ten took a moment to smile at this stranger. He had a boyish sort of innocent that Ten couldn’t wrap his mind around. “Yeah, it’s okay,” he replied. “I couldn’t finish all of it, anyway.”

“Oh,” Yukhei smiled. He opened the chopsticks with as much grace as expected of him. Coming form someone who had known him for about an hour. “Well, thank you, Ten.”

Ten couldn’t believe that he’d let a total stranger come into his house and eat his Chinese food. This is what Ten’s shitty day had come to. “I’m going to get you some ice,” he announced, making his way towards the kitchen. He stuffed some ice into a sandwich bag, hoping that it would do the trick. It was how he used to ice his knees back in the day, so it would probably help a couple of bruised ribs, as well. While he was there, he got Yukhei a glass of water, because Ten was never anything less than a perfect host. Besides, the Chinese food was about as greasy as it was salty. Yukhei would need some water.

Ten set Yukhei’s water on the table in front of him and sat down right next to Yukhei. He was currently shoving half of a chicken into his mouth, happy eyes finding Ten’s face. “Where are you bruised?” he asked.

Yukhei swallowed hard, turning to look at Ten. “This chicken is so good,” he said. Ten laughed at how much that  _ didn’t  _ answer his question. The taller man pointed to the front of his ribs, shoving some rice in his mouth. “And right here. I can hold it, though. You’ve already done more than enough, thank you.”

Regardless, Ten held the bag of ice to his ribs. “It’s okay, you should keep eating.” He watched Yukhei for a moment, wondering why Ten had been the pick of people to nurse Yukhei back to health. Maybe it was random. “And you’re welcome. I didn’t really mind it.”

The man was eating like his life depended on it. Someone of his size probably had to eat Ten’s weight in food. Yukhei’s gaze moved over to Ten. He looked at him for a couple of minutes, and Ten could see the gears moving in his mind. “Why were you up this late, anyway?” he asked, biting a piece of bok choy in half.

“Oh,” Ten said, pursing his lips. Of course Yukhei wanted to know that. “My boyfriend broke up with me today, so I was kind of just having a self care night.” Mostly crying, but Ten didn't feel like mentioning that.

Yukhei sputtered around a mouthful of rice. “Oh, your boyfriend? Ex-boyfriend? Now ex-boyfriend? I’m sorry he broke up with you. That sucks. That means you’re… So, you’re--”

“Gay?” Ten asked. If Yukhei had a problem with it, Ten would point out that their friend Guanheng was, too. “Yeah, I am.”

Yukhei shook his head at light speed. “I was going to say single.”

Ten’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh. Well, yeah. I guess I am.”

Yukhei nodded, considering. “That’s neat.” He went back to stuffing his face with as much food as humanly possible. “This chicken is so good. I’m never letting anyone but you order Chinese food, from now on.”

Ten wanted to tell him that they probably weren’t going to see each other a whole bunch, after this. That was, unless Yukhei managed to get himself jumped again. For both of their sakes, Ten hoped he didn’t. “It’s just the sesame chicken,” he said softly.

Yukhei grinned, “it’s amazing.”

Ten yawned. What a day it had been. It had ended a lot more pleasantly than he’d expected, thanks to Guanheng volunteering him for things. He hadn’t even called Kun and bawled for him to take Ten back. That counted as a success.

“I should probably get to sleep,” Ten said, standing up and setting the bag of ice on the table. “There are blankets in the closet next to the bathroom, so help yourself. Same goes for more ice, or whatever you need.

If Ten hadn’t known better--alternatively, if he hadn;t been entirely out of his mind-- he would have thought that Yukhei looked disappointed. “Thanks,” he said, setting his box of food down. “Thank you for everything, seriously. I know it was weird and short notice, but I really appreciate all of your help tonight.”

“No worries,” Ten said, trudging towards his bedroom. This day had thoroughly kicked his ass. But somehow, the best part of it had been helping a stranger not get an infection. Yukhei was a pleasant presence, that’s all there was to it. “It was actually nice not to be alone, tonight.”

Yukhei smiled, that goofy grin that came so naturally to him. “Agreed.”

Ten smiled back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry this update took so long! Long story short my house burned down three months ago and during all of that, my laptop died and I had to buy a new one! I'm okay now and I'm just glad to finally continue this fic! I don't think this chapter is very good at all, but it's going to help the main plot get rolling. Thanks for reading!

Ten’s ex-boyfriend refused to talk to him.

It hadn’t been a bad breakup, Kun had explained calmly that they were different people who wanted different things from life. They’d been together for a while, just short of nine months, and it had made sense that Kun had wanted to break up with him. They were very different people, and sometimes Ten felt like Kun didn’t understand him when he was talking. Even so, it had been one of the most peaceful breakups of his life. Ten hadn’t started crying until after Kun had left his house, so obviously it hadn’t ended poorly.

But now, Kun refused to talk to him. He was his manager at the bar, and he absolutely refused to talk to Ten unless it was strictly business. He wouldn’t text Ten back unless it was about work, and he definitely wouldn’t acknowledge Ten’s existence unless he had to. It sucked. Ten didn’t know what he had done between the breakup and now to make Kun want to ignore him. It was unexpected, and Ten didn’t like it at all. He didn’t want to be ignored by someone who had just broken up with him—it just made the effects of the breakup worse. Now Ten was worrying about what he had done wrong, or if Kun ever had feelings for him, or if there was anyway to get his handsome, put together ex-boyfriend to talk to him again.

Ten finished wiping the bar down, throwing the rag under the counter. He didn’t have much else to do, so he turned around to straighten the bottles on the shelf behind him, making sure they were all facing the same way. His shift was so close to being over, he only had about twenty minutes left before he could finally go home and eat that quinoa mix he’d been thinking about all afternoon.

He knew Guanheng wanted to hang out with he and their other friend, Yangyang, at some point, too. Guanheng wanted to get drunk and go bowling, which seemed slightly dangerous, but Ten would still most likely end up hanging out with them. He could always be designated driver if he didn’t feel like drinking, depending on his work schedule. If they wanted to hang out with Ten today, Ten would have to hurry home and eat his quinoa, because no way was he passing on the quinoa after thinking about it for so long. Besides, bowling alley food was expensive, and even though Guanheng had literally given Ten three hundred dollars not too long ago, he didn’t want to blow it on a chewy slice of pizza.

Long story short, Ten wanted to go home. He didn’t like working with Kun, anymore. All of his other managers were so nice to him, and now that Kun decided to ignore Ten’s very existence, there was nothing for Ten to do while he was working with him. He knew Kun didn’t like it either, considering their silence. It was just awkward, now. Ten wanted to get home and away from his ex-boyfriend. He thought that was a fair desire.

“Can I get an old fashioned?”

Ten turned around to see the customer, met with an oddly familiar gaze. His eyes were round, warm bar lights reflecting off of dark pupils. “Yukhei?” Ten said, surprised to see the stranger in his bar. His hair was pushed back and gelled, the cuts on his nose and lip significantly smaller than they had been when Ten had met him. The bruise under his eye was a dull yellow colour, barely noticeable in this light. Ten didn’t know what to say, whether he should ask him how he was doing, or say it was nice to see him again. He didn’t even _know_ if it was nice to see him again, or if Yukhei was just remarkably handsome. “Are you even old enough to drink?” he asked instead, going with the most innocuous question.

“I am,” Yukhei smiled, reaching in the pocket of his slacks and handing Ten his ID. “Do I look younger than I am?”

Ten didn’t know. His face suggested his age, but the way his ears stuck out and the way that goofy smile fit onto his face like a reflex suggested otherwise. Apparently, he was twenty-two. “Not really, Wong Yukhei,” he said, handing the ID back to him. “That’s not a Korean name, is it?”

Yukhei watched Ten pour bourbon into a glass, thick eyebrows raised curiously. He was wearing a white button up that was snugly buttoned all the way around his neck. “You’re named after a number,” he pointed out.

Ten smiled, “good point.”

“I’m from Hong Kong, mostly,” the man said, setting his elbows on the counter of the bar. “I was raised in Hong Kong, but my mom’s in Thailand, so I was back and forth a lot. And I moved here during high school, so it’s a mixed bag. The name’s Chinese, though.”

“Interesting,” Ten said, sliding Yukhei’s drink towards him. He couldn’t help but feel a little giddy around someone this handsome. Every time he looked at Yukhei’s face, his stomach did flips, which was embarrassing but Yukhei really _was_ that attractive. “I’m from Thailand, but I’m also Chinese.”

“ _Ooh_ ,” Yukhei said, and then laughed. Ten didn’t know what he thought was so funny, but his laugh was so cute he didn’t care. The man took a sip of his drink, cheeks still round with a smile.

Ten leaned his hip against the counter, looking down at the other man. “So, what brings you here today?” he asked. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Yukhei at his bar before today. He was sure he would have remembered someone with such immaculate bone structure. And Yukhei was rich, wasn’t he? The bar Ten worked at wasn’t awful, but it definitely wasn’t the five-star bars he was sure Yukhei was used to.

The smile on Yukhei’s face faded, and Ten actually felt disappointed. “I need your help, actually.” He took another quick sip of his drink, smacking his lips after he did. “I’m sorry I didn’t ever thank you after that one night, but you did get the money from Guanheng, right?”

“You mean the three hundred bucks?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. Yukhei nodded. “Yeah, I got it. I didn’t know it was from you.”

Yukhei shrugged his broad shoulders. The fabric around the front of his shirt looked like it was about to rip, or at least pull off a couple of buttons. Ten tried not to notice. “I just wanted to thank you for taking care of me, but I’ve been pretty busy lately, so I had Guanheng give it to you. Normally, I wouldn’t want to come see you just because I need something from you, but desperate times call for desperate measures, right?”

“I guess so,” Ten said. So, this was the man that had given Ten a few hundred bucks just because he let him crash on the couch for a night? Ten knew his dad was a CEO, and he knew he was neck deep in money, but it was still surprising. He’d thrown that money at someone who was basically a stranger, save for one night. “So, what do you need my help with? Is it something like last time?”

“Kind of,” the man nodded. “I need an alibi.”

Ten swallowed hard. “An alibi?”

“My dad got up to some pretty shady stuff the same night I was with you,” Yukhei said, leaning across the bar to get closer to Ten. “Nothing too bad, but he’s definitely in trouble for it. And I just need you to talk to the police and tell them that I was with you the entire night.”

“What do they think you did?” Ten asked. He wanted to know what was going on, just in case Yukhei really was going to murder him some point. If his dad was in this big of trouble, Ten thought he had a right to know what sort of person he was dealing with.

“It’s a lot of stuff having to do with the company, like finances and fraud, don’t worry about it too much.”

Ten studied the taller man’s face. He felt nervous from the way Yukhei’s dark eyes were regarding him. It’s like he was waiting for Ten to say something, but Ten didn’t know what he was supposed to say. “Okay,” he said slowly. “You just need me to tell them that you were with me that night?”

“Exactly,” Yukhei nodded. He looked down at the counter of the bar, tracing the tip of his finger against it. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. “I also told them that I was with you because you’re my boyfriend.”

“You did what?” Ten asked. He wanted to make sure he’d heard the other man correctly.

Yukhei brought his eyes back up to Ten’s face. “I told them you were my boyfriend,” he said, a little louder this time. “I can’t have them knowing that I was with you because I’d gotten jumped, it’ll just get more people in trouble. The only reason I’d reasonably be at your house at one in the morning is if we were together.”

It made sense. It also made Ten feel like he was going to pass out because not only was he covering for someone by pretending to be dating him, but he was covering for the most attractive man he’d ever met. “Okay,” Ten said again, nodding his head. He didn’t think it would be too hard. Even if it was, it was just to talk to the police. He didn’t have a lot of work to do, he was sure he could handle it. “It sounds easy enough, I can do it.”

Yukhei smiled widely, sitting up on the stool. “Great,” he said. “That’s such a relief, I was worried you wouldn’t want to talk to the police. When do you get off?”

Ten looked at the clock on the far wall. “In about five minutes,” he said.

Yukhei’s eyes followed Ten’s to the clock. “Do you want to talk some stuff over when you get off?” he asked. He took a drink from his glass, finishing half of it in one go. He licked his lips when he was finished, setting the glass back on the counter with a soft _clink_. “I know the cops are going to want to ask a lot of questions, so it’ll probably help if you know some stuff about me.”

Ten nodded. His gaze subconsciously floated to where Kun was mopping the floor on the other side of the room behind Yukhei. His eyes flickered up to where Ten and Yukhei had been talking, then back down to the floor. Ten couldn’t help but feel slightly accomplished, making his ex-boyfriend see him talk to another handsome man. “Yeah, that’s fine,” Ten smiled, bringing his attention back to Yukhei. He thought about flirting with Yukhei, just because he knew Kun was watching them. Then, he decided that it was an amateur thing to do and would let Kun come to conclusions on his own. “You have to pay me for that before I get off,” he said, nodding his head at the drink.

Yukhei smiled up at Ten. He reached into the pocket of his jeans, unfolding his wallet and throwing a twenty onto the counter. “There you go,” he said, shoving his wallet back into the too-tight pockets of his dark jeans.

Ten snorted, “it’s an eight-dollar drink.”

“Keep the rest,” Yukhei shrugged. Ten hated rich people. At the same time, he’d just made a twelve-dollar tip, so maybe he didn’t hate all of them. “Do you want to stay here to talk, or do you want to go somewhere else?”

Ten’s eyes flickered back to Kun, who was still mopping the already spotless floor. “We can stay here,” he smiled. His quinoa mix would have to wait.

Yukhei tilted his head all the way back so he could finish his drink. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and Ten suddenly felt very warm. The taller man pushed the empty glass towards Ten and pulled another twenty out of his pocket. “Can I get another one, then?”

“Sure,” Ten chuckled. He set the empty glass with the rest of the used dishes, shoving the bill into his pocket. He grabbed the bourbon, bitters, and sugar, trying to not pay attention to the way Yukhei or his ex-boyfriend were watching them. He made sure to add a little extra bourbon and an extra cherry, since Yukhei had given him forty bucks for two drinks. “There you go,” Ten said, setting the drink in front of the man. “I have to go put my apron away and cash out, but I’ll be right back out.”

Yukhei nodded, a crooked smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment telling me how you feel about this short chapter! Thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed~ please leave a comment letting me know how you feel about the first chapter, so I can write the second one!! Thank you!
> 
> Twitter: vampykhei


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